Torch Coral Expelling White String-Like Substance

[SurfTrack]

Hello All,

I have a new torch coral, and it has seemingly been doing very well. This morning, I turned off all of my pumps so I could feed my fish and I noticed a small irritated area of the coral. It is very difficult to see because all of the other tentacles are covering it. Additionally, there is some sort of white string substance being expelled from the center of the irritated area.

I am not sure exactly what is happening or whether I should be concerned or not. The irritation looks to be isolated and the rest of the coral seems unaffected so I am not extremely worried yet. I'm wondering what you all think?

Thanks!

The video shows the coral this morning while the pumps are turned on. The other pictures show the irritated area after I turned the pumps off.

 

[SurfTrack]

As an additional note -- the source of the irritation is *NOT* the mouth. This is a one head coral too.

 

[BryanM]

I don't see "the" problem.

My concern is that this is a lot of flow, one-sided. I'd like to see its tentacles flowing both ways, and not getting blown (fairly hard) in one direction.

 

[SurfTrack]

I don't see "the" problem.

My concern is that this is a lot of flow, one-sided. I'd like to see its tentacles flowing both ways, and not getting blown (fairly hard) in one direction.

Just took some photos. I hope these are a bit more clear. Its so difficult because I have to simultaneously use a pipette to move the tentacles while trying to take a clear photo . It almost appears as if one of the tentacles or part of the fleshy base is damaged. I tried to zoom in to show the white string like substance.

As for flow -- I have been having difficulties. I've been trying all different powerhead directions but its hard to balance random flow without kicking up all the sand. I may need to invest in a powerhead that has more functionality.

 

[BryanM]

@VintageReefer might have some thoughts here.

 

[SurfTrack]

I don't see "the" problem.

My concern is that this is a lot of flow, one-sided. I'd like to see its tentacles flowing both ways, and not getting blown (fairly hard) in one direction.

I made an adjustment to my powerhead placement in an attempt to create a more random flow.

How does this look?

 

[BryanM]

I made an adjustment to my powerhead placement in an attempt to create a more random flow.

How does this look?

That looks great - huge improvement.

 

[VintageReefer]

Can you tell if it’s a hitchhiker ? I see the shortened tentacles that are irritated. There might be a small wound. I would give it a few days and see if it gets better

 

[SurfTrack]

Can you tell if it’s a hitchhiker ? I see the shortened tentacles that are irritated. There might be a small wound. I would give it a few days and see if it gets better

I do not think it is a hitch hiker. I have noticed that my emerald crab likes to hang out directly next to the torch coral and pick at the algae on its base. Sometimes, it gets right up to the tentacles. I'm wondering if it could have caused some sort of damage.

In any case -- it seems minor and I'm just going to keep an eye on it for now.